Ponies and Tiger chosen for Lobster Bowl

Two Foxcroft Academy senior football players and a member of the Class of 2019 on the Dexter Regional High School gridiron squad have been selected to participate in the 2019 Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic, which is scheduled for Saturday, July 20 at Thornton Academy in Saco.

Chosen for the East team — made up of high school senior football players from Classes A, B, C and D — is Foxcroft Academy’s Eli Bickford and Hyatt Smith and David Kirshkaln of Dexter. Lobster Bowl positions are to be determined but Bickford and Kirshkaln were linemen for the Ponies and Tigers respectively and Smith played receiver and defensive back for the Ponies.

Foxcroft Academy cheering team members Lauren Cooper and Mckenzie McLeod have both been chosen for the East Lobster Bowl cheering squad.

The Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic will mark its 30th consecutive year this summer with Lobster Bowl XXX. The all-star football game is a Kora Shrine-sponsored event where 100 percent of the net proceeds from the game are for the benefit of the 22 Shrine Hospitals for Children across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic has been created to raise money and to help make the public aware of the expert orthopedic and burn care facilities available, regardless of the patient’s’ ability to pay, to children who desperately need this specialized care.

This East vs. West match-up, brings over 150 football players, cheerleaders and coaches from all over the state together to help produce what is considered the premier high school sporting event held in Maine. All participants commit to a week long training camp where they make new friends and more importantly, learn why they play the game — “Strong Legs Run … So that Weak Legs May Walk”.

The student-athletes have just graduated and are about to enter college. They are nominated to play in the prestigious game by their coaches and selected by a committee from the Maine Athletics Association.

Heading into the 2019 edition, the West holds a 19-10 lead in the all-time Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic standings. The West won the game last year by a score of 40-14.

Players from around the state will begin preparation for this year’s contest during a pregame camp to be held again in 2019 at Foxcroft Academy. East and West rosters are subject to change over the next three months.